Struggle, featuring Julia Roberts

The Valley of the Sun, where I live, is in Monsoon mode now. There was an intense dust storm about a week ago, and high humidity alternating and sometimes coinciding with high heat. The air quality is not good, especially for allergy sufferers. That’s my problem now. I’ve been to Urgent Care and am taking their prescribed medicine, but nothing is working well.

In the movie MONA LISA SMILE, Julia Roberts teaches Art History at the women’s college Wellesley during the 1953-1954 academic year.  She struggles with the school administration, her students, a man who wants to marry her, and a man who seems to love her but is untrustworthy.

I did this portrait of Ms. Roberts at the tail-end of a breakup scene with her would-be fiancé. She is plain and unsmiling, which is uncharacteristic. I had a crusher of a headache as I drew her, which seemed to fit.